Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) universal admission screening in patients and companions in Taiwan from May 2021 to June 2022: A nationwide multicenter study.

Objective: Universal admission screening and follow-up symptom-based testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may play critical roles in controlling nosocomial transmission. We describe the performance of test strategies for inpatients and their companions during various disease incidences in Taiwan.

Design: Retrospective population-based cohort study.

Setting: The study was conducted across 476 hospitals in Taiwan.

Methods: The data for both testing strategies by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction for SARS-CoV-2 in newly admitted patients and their companions during May 2021-June 2022 were extracted and analyzed.

Results: The positivity rate of universal admission screening was 0.76% (14,640 of 1,928,676) for patients and 0.37% (5,372 of 1,438,944) for companions. The weekly community incidences of period 1 (May 2021-June 2021), period 2 (July 2021-March 2022), and period 3 (April 2022-June 2022) were 6.57, 0.27, and 1,261, respectively, per 100,000 population. The positivity rates of universal admission screening for patients and companions (4.39% and 2.18%) in period 3 were higher than those in periods 1 (0.29% and 0.04%) and 2 (0.03% and 0.003%) (all < .01). Among the 22,201 confirmed cases, 9.86% were identified by symptom-based testing. The costs and potential savings of universal admission screening for patients and companions achieved a breakeven point when the test strategy was implemented in a period with weekly community incidences of 27 and 358 per 100,000 population, respectively.

Conclusions: Universal admission screening and follow-up symptom-based testing is important for reducing nosocomial transmission. Implementing universal admission screening at an appropriate time would balance the benefits with costs and potential unintended harms.